Former Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem was jailed on Monday February 13th for failure to pay nearly $400,000 in child support to his ex-wife Andrea Rhodes.
Meachem and Rhodes separated in May of 2014 and divorced in November 2015. They currently share custody of their two children. The courts ordered Meachem to pay $20,000 per month in child support and alimony to Rhodes in their settlement agreement. Given that his arrears amount is nearly $400,000, he has paid very little in monetary support to his ex-wife over the past 20 months.
Former Saint Robert Meachem Jailed for Failure to Pay Child Support
Rhodes asked that Meachem be held in contempt for failure to make most of his payments to her. Three motions for contempt have now been filed by Rhodes and her attorneys. Jefferson Parish Judge Adrian Adams of the 24th Judicial district Court has deemed that Meachem will not be released prior to March 15th unless he pays Rhodes $100,000 or a quarter of the outstanding arrears. His motion for a new trial was denied.
Meachem was also fined $500 on Monday for failure to produce written testimony from his manager, Tomeka Tovell. His defense was that his manager was not subpoenaed and therefore was not obligated to appear.
In a hearing in September of 2016, it was revealed that Meachem secretly took $1.8 million dollars from their joint investment accounts. He was unable to explain where the money went. In total, $5.8 million has vanished from their investments. His explanation was that former business associates stole millions of dollars from him. He has claimed that because he pays little attention to his finances, he did not realize that the money was missing.
The wide receiver’s attorney Guy deLaup withdrew from the case on Monday and two new attorneys Wiley Beevers and Shayna Beevers were signed to represent him
Meachem played for the New Orleans Saints for six seasons between 2008 and 2014.
